We kick off Super Bowl week with some fun. Every year some famous or semi famous person comes out at halftime dances around, sings a few songs and creates a lot of jobs for people putting things on the field and then taking them back off again 20 minutes later. It makes the whole extravaganza event that much more special or painful depending on the game and show. I’ve been watching the Super Bowl since the super bowl shuffle in 85. These are what I think are the top 10 most memorable performances I have seen. Enjoy.

10. Super Bowl XLII Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

It was fitting that the Heartbreakers played at half time as this was the Super Bowl that the 18-0 New England Patriots finally lost. I know most of my readers probably rejoiced as the Patriots were a hated team even then. But if you know me at all, you know one of the things that bugs me the most is the 72 Dolphins celebrating together every time the last undefeated team loses. I won’t rant too much about this, but lets just say I am not big on celebrating other people’s defeats. Unless it is the Raiders, Bengals or Cowboys of course. Anyway, this was a great game with a historical loss so Tom Petty sort of got lost in the fray. Danielle and I had just moved to Minnesota and were still in corporate housing in downtown Minneapolis where it was like -25 degrees outside. If you have never been to Minneapolis then you don’t know that there are tunnels for people to walk around to get from one building to the next because it is so cold. Danielle calls them the gerbil tunnels. Anyway, this was prior to kids and we didn’t know anyone so Danielle and I watched together and had fun despite the team I was cheering for losing. Part of the fun was watching my boy Tom Petty perform. I have so much respect for anyone who is that ugly that can find a way to be that successful. I also appreciate the fact that they didn’t mess around with crap songs or new stuff. American Girl, I won’t back down, Free Fallin and Running down a dream and then they were out. I still argue that if you had to pick one artist to listen too while driving across the country it would be Tom Petty. 

9. Super Bowl LII Justin Timberlake

This was another loss by the Patriots this time to Nick Foles and the Eagles. I have mixed emotions about Timberlake in general. The dude can flat out perform which you have to appreciate. Some friends of ours bought Danielle and I tickets to see him around this time. We went to see him and the show I think was supposed to start around 8 pm. I am pretty sure he didn’t come out until like 11. No opening act. I mean, you are talented but come on. 3 hours later he rolls out. Plus in 2017 I was 38. I’m in bed by 11 pm, bro. Starting that late was enough to make me cry a river. You can’t deny the arrogance but you can’t deny the talent, either. Dude puts on a good show and the Super Bowl was no exception. He is also the only musician to find his way on this list multiple times. Unfortunately none of those times were renditions of his songs with the lonely island gang.

8. Super Bowl LIV Shakira and J-Lo

I like Shakira. She seems nice. Plus her hips don’t lie and I like an honest woman. On a side note, this was the first time I saw the Chiefs win the Super Bowl and I remember everything about this game including Shakira.

7. Super Bowl XLIX Katy Perry

Katy also had guests Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot join her. I remember there being people dressed up as animals and lots of moving elements. It really was quite a big show which was pretty cool. It was a good time and my wife liked it and that is always a win. 

6. Super Bowl LI Lady Gaga

Speaking of things my wife liked, I give you the Lady Gaga halftime show. After a barrage of performances of artists bringing out special guests and bands, Lady Gaga said, I got this. I don’t need anyone else. She is a weird person but she can sing and she can perform. She sang parts of almost all of her hits and put on a tremendous show. My wife was very pleased. 

5. Super Bowl LV The Weekend

Remember, this list is most memorable, not the best. I don’t particularly like The Weekend. Well, I mean I love the actual weekend but I am not a big fan of the musician The Weekend. But I won’t forget this show. Not because it was good but because it was weird and awkward because there was hardly anyone at the show. Quite honestly this will probably go down as my least favorite Super Bowl. The Chiefs lost in a blow out. Covid was in full effect. And I am not a fan of Covid. And the Weekend performed to an empty stadium making sure that all the performers stayed 6 feet apart or whatever the nonsense was at the time. Was it good? No. Will I forget it? No matter how hard I try to forget that dreadful day I cannot. 

4. Super Bowl LVI Dr. Dre and company

After recovering from the Chiefs self destructing second half in the AFC Championship, I was able to enjoy exactly two parts of this Super Bowl. The first was the halftime show and the second was Joe Burrow and his smug little face and all his cocky teammates losing. Little known fact about me but I love gangsta rap, particularly 90’s gangsta rap. So this was the perfect show for me. Dr. Dre, Snoop and Eminem…what more could you ask for? Well I could ask for less Kendrick Lamar in the show but hey, we can’t have it all. This also created one of my favorite all time memes where there is a picture of the guy from Pawn Stars and a customer asking for a Tupac hologram and the Pawn Star guy responds, “best I can do is upside down fifty cent.”  The other great moment of this is when my wife said, “I was excited about this show because usually the halftime show is designed to the target audience of middle aged Americans and this is targeted at us instead. Then I realized we are middle aged Americans.” Anyway, this was a great overall halftime show. 

3. Super Bowl XXVII Michael Jackson

I remember this being a big deal. Before MJ, most of the halftime shows were bands and had some sort of theme. MJ doesn’t need a band or a theme. He was freaking Michael Jackson after all. This was 1993 so this was back when people were trying to figure out why he looked different but prior to people trying to figure out if he did bad things to kids. He is arguably the greatest performer of all time and the show did not disappoint. Rewatching it now, I am like the camera work isn’t great and the audio should be better. But in 1993 we were still watching stuff on box TVs and I didn’t even have cable yet. So at the time it was epic. And it changed the halftime shows forever. 

2. Super Bowl XXXVIII Janet Jackson and her boob

Sure, P Diddy, Kid Rock, Nelly and Jessica Simpson were involved but no one can tell you what they did or what they sang. But we all remember Timberlake and Janet dancing and singing seductively and then Timberlake ripping off a part of her outfit to reveal her boob. Once the repercussions came rolling in they tried to pawn it off as a wardrobe malfunction which it obviously was not. To make the moment more awkward I was at a Super Bowl party with kids watching with us. The moment happened fast but it was enough for everyone at the party to feel real awkward about it. If you thought it was uncomfortable watching Shakira dance around with that rope thing, imagine what it would be like if her boob fell out. Wait…don’t imagine that. Forget I said that. Anyway, if we are ranking the most memorable halftimes this would probably be #1 on most people’s list. But it comes in #2 for me. 

1. Super Bowl XXXVI U2

There is really nothing funny here. This was just a moment I will never forget. It was the Super Bowl following 9/11. U2 played Its a Beautiful Day followed by MLK and The Streets Have No Name. Usually the halftime show is a mix of little bits of lots of songs. But this was something different. During the music the names of the victims of the 9/11 scrolled behind them. It was a powerful moment and at the end Bono popped his jacket open to reveal the American Flag. It was an amazing tribute to the fallen. U2 is one of my favorite bands and the Streets Have No Name is probably my favorite song. It was an epic performance from an epic band at a moment where our country needed unity. Ironically Janet Jackson was scheduled to perform but because they had to change the date of the game due to the 9/11 events, Janet couldn’t do the event. We are all lucky that we got Bono flashing us the American flag instead of Janet flashing us her boob.